Phoenix, San Francisco tied in list of top cities for high-tech job growth

In a recent report from commercial real estate group CBRE, Phoenix and San Francisco tied for the best high-tech job growth among North American markets from 2012 to 2014.

BY JESSICA SUERTH

Sep 4, 2015, 7:41 PM

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PHOENIX — Phoenix and San Francisco both came out in the No. 1 spot in a recent list of top cities for high-tech job growth in the past two years, according to the Phoenix Business Journal.

In a recent report from commercial real estate group CBRE, the two cities tied for highest tech job growth among North American markets from 2012 to 2014.

Phoenix added 12,662 new high-tech jobs in the two year period, a 42.7 percent increase for the Valley. In comparison, high-tech jobs in Silicon Valley only increased 27 percent in the same time period.

The report also found that Phoenix added more tech jobs overall than Chicago, Austin, Boston, Los Angeles and Dallas.

Although the Valley has made great strides in developing a greater number of high-tech jobs, Phoenix ranked No. 14 in a list of total tech employment with a total of 42,304.

Most of these jobs make up sales and back-office positions instead of software developers and engineers, according to the article.

With a total of 215,436 tech jobs, the combined market of San Francisco Bay area and Silicon Valley hold the top spot for total tech employment.

Kevin Calihan, senior vice president with CBRE’s Phoenix office, said the Valley is an attractive option for young techies.

“The Valley has a growing, young and educated workforce, and an office market that’s attractively priced when compared to our competitors,” he said in an interview with the Phoenix Business Journal.

Phoenix isn’t the only Arizona city who ranked within high-tech markets; Tempe made CBRE’s list of top high-tech submarkets.